AUBURN, Wash. (AP) - A shooting last week that left one 15-year-old girl in critical condition has been ruled an accident, police say.
Auburn Police responded to the incident that happened last Friday around 7:30 p.m. at a home on 297th Place. An Auburn Police commander told Q13 News the girl’s 13-year-old brother was playing with a gun he thought was unloaded, and accidentally shot his older sister.
Paula Horstead, the children’s grandmother, said the family is heartbroken. Horstead said her daughter was a victim of gun violence as a teen, and this shooting incident is now opening up old wounds.
“Yes, I was devastated when it happened to my daughter,” said Horstead, “and my granddaughter it’s like a ton of bricks laying on my chest.”
Horstead said as of Tuesday was in an induced coma after receiving surgery.
Commander Mike Hirman of the Auburn Police Department said children should not have access to weapons, and by law, firearms must be kept in secure storage.
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